Information storage media are capable of storing information in electronic form. In one respect, the information storage media may be part of a storage device having some type of read and write mechanism for reading information from the media and writing information to the media, respectively.
The storage device may read information stored in storage media by positioning its read mechanism relative to the location on the media where the information is stored. To store information, the storage device may position its write mechanism relative to the location on the media where the information is to be written, and cause the information to be stored. For example, a read/write mechanism can include a probe having a cantilever and some type of tip for reading and writing information to and from a storage media, respectively.
Typically, a cantilever tip used to read and write information may be formed using a non-single crystal silicon material, such as amorphous silicon or polycrystalline silicon (“poly-silicon”). Amorphous silicon refers to the non-crystalline form of silicon. The thickness of the non-single crystal silicon may be controlled in a relatively precise manner. Poly-silicon refers to silicon made up of crystalline sections randomly connected to form a solid material. Both amorphous silicon and polycrystalline silicon can also be deposited using low pressure chemical vapor deposition (“LPCVD”). However, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to consistently produce a very sharp tip out of non-single crystal silicon as compared with single crystal silicon.
It would thus be desirable to have a relatively simple and inexpensive process for producing relatively sharp tips for use on information storage media.